The Women's Freedom Network Newsletter January/February & March/April 2002, Volume 9, Nos. 1 & 2 WOMEN'S FREEDOM NETWORK NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STOPPING COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION Forced into the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Personal Account by Cherry Kingsley

Here are my personal experiences growing up in the sex trade.

I grew up in the sex trade in Canada for 8 years, from the time I was 14 years old until I was 22 years old. Prior to that, I had grown up in a violent home. There was a lot of abuse, alcoholism, neglect, and fighting. I remember when I was a child the police would often come to my house because neighbors complained about my parents' drunk behavior and loud fighting. My sister and I would sit there helpless. I had asked for help from a teacher and a neighbor, but they felt really uncomfortable, did not really believe my stories, and offered me no help.

I became a ward of the state at age 10. The conditions of the homes run by the state were poor, and children were often twice as likely to suffer abuse within the state-run homes. Aside from the physical abuse, I had to endure the stigma of being labeled a welfare kid who lived in a group home with no family. Other children in the neighborhood where my group home was located were not allowed to come over and I wasn't allowed to visit their homes. There was this real isolation and marginalization that happened to me.

I felt completely disconnected. I was not only disconnected from a normal family life, but from a normal childhood, and from my culture as a North American native person. I didn't grow up connected to the things that keep a young person protected. If you grow up disconnected from everything, then obviously you're vulnerable to all forms of exploitation. For too long we have said that people end up being exploited because they've done something wrong or have made bad choices. We tend to put the responsibility onto the young person.

When I turned 14 years old, I was living in Calgary and met an older couple. They said they were moving to Vancouver and that I could come with them. I saw this as an opportunity to start my life over and to leave everything else behind, so I went with them. The night we arrived in Vancouver they informed me for the first time that I would have to go to work. They said that we did not have money and that we only had enough money to spend one night at the hotel, and that I had to go to work.

I did not know what that meant. I did not know what was expected of me. So the older person had to tell me what to do, to show me how to dress and how to become a prostitute. I worked 18 hours or more and serviced at least 10 clients each day. I endured physical abuse and sexual assaults from my clients and my pimp. I was harassed by the police and by people driving by. The day-to-day living conditions of children in the sex trade are really indescribable.

For too long we have said that people end up being exploited because they've done something wrong or have made bad choices. We tend to put the responsibility onto the young person.

Most of my friends have died from AIDS, drugs, or murder. Some just gave up, they couldn't live their lives anymore and they committed suicide. That's the reality. Sometimes when we say "commercial sexual exploitation," or "trafficking children," it doesn't clearly convey the story of what it's like living this life.

I know just in my own experiences, these activities took place in such venues as night clubs, taxi companies, restaurants, hotels, escort agencies, and bath houses. People profited greatly from our exploitation. The people I'm referring to here are not just the individual pimps, but the entire community in which the activity took place. Look at where the sex trade exists in urban centers. It typically is in poorer communities, sometimes racially segregated communities.

I was in the sex trade for 8 years. By the time I was 15 years old I was a cocaine and heroin addict, and obviously that became part of the trap to keep me in the business. This business is very controlled by organized crime. At one point I was forced to work for a bike gang, and at another time the Russian Mafia. The industry is also controlled by other organized networks ranging from the highly controlled networks, such as the Lebanese Mafia in Vancouver and in Western parts of Canada, to boyfriends and family members.

So, you may ask, how did I stay out of the sex trade? As I became more vocal about my experiences in the sex trade and could speak up without fear and without shame, I felt empowered and connected to my culture, my community, and my country. For example, I am Native American. A few years ago I met an elder at a meeting and he gave me this eagle feather because we use them in our talking circles. He said to me, "Your life is sacred. All lives are sacred." No one had ever said that to me before. Not my parents, not my foster parents, anyone in the 20 homes I lived in, my social workers, counselors, or my psychiatrists. This elder was the first person to ever show me and tell me that I had value.

It honestly seemed like no one out in the world ever cared about me. I think about when I was 14 years old. At three o'clock in the morning I went to the 7-Eleven to buy a package of cigarettes and a package of condoms. Nobody ever said a thing to me. How does a 14-year-old rent a hotel room with some older men that obviously aren't her fathers? How come I was never stopped or questioned? But that's what happens when you're stuck in a situation that is controlled by so many facets of our community where so many people, from motel owners to taxi cab drivers, to restaurant owners, benefit from another's demise. We must start holding those people accountable that do profit, beyond just the stereotypical pimp and the stereotypical customer, but to the kind of communities and facilities and the businesses that are facilitating the commercial exploitation of children.

I helped to organize an international meeting of young people from across the Americas. Fifty-five young people attended the meeting and developed a vision for how to address the sex trafficking issue. The declaration reads as follows: "We declare that the term 'child or youth prostitute' can no longer be used. These children and youth are sexually exploited and any language or reference to them must reflect this belief. We declare that the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth is a form of child abuse and slavery. We declare that all children and youth have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, exploitation, and the threat of abuse, harm or exploitation. We declare that the commercial exploitation of children and youth must no longer be financially profitable. We declare that all children and youth have the right to know their rights. We declare that the issue of child and youth sexual exploitation must be a global priority, and nations must hold not only their neighbors accountable, but also themselves. We declare that governments are obligated to create laws that reflect the principle of zero tolerance of all forms of abuse and exploitation of children and youth."